Even after his South Carolina State teams posted resounding Palmetto Capital City Classic wins over Benedict College, Oliver “Buddy” Pough still held counterpart John Hendrick in high regard.

Both men paid their dues as assistant coaches with Southeastern Conference teams and have solid reputations as being father figures to their players.

It now appears the Tigers’ former head coach will have the chance to work with Pough when he’s introduced as SCSU’s new defensive coordinator, possibly as early as Thursday.

Hendrick, who was in attendance at Saturday’s SCSU/Hampton men’s basketball game, will replace Tom Evangelista, who, SCSU sources indicate, has decided to leave in order to pursue other coaching opportunities.

In four years at Benedict, Hendrick posted an 18-24 mark, which includes the program’s only winning season since the program’s reinstatement in 1995. He was relieved of his duties in early November following a third straight losing season.

Prior to Benedict, Hendrick spent eight seasons at Mississippi State, where he worked primarily as defensive line coach. Under his guidance, the Bulldogs ran the 3-3-5 defense (something SCSU used during Pough’s first three seasons) and allowed a nation-low 222.5 total yards and 66.9 rushing yards during the 1999 season. They also led the SEC in every defensive category.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he played with future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, Hendrick has worked with Delaware State, LSU, Kansas State and Temple, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers of the NFL.

Neither Pough nor Hendrick were available for comment on Sunday.

--SCSU up to 12 verbal commitments

As Hendrick spent the weekend getting acquainted with his new home, eight visiting recruits decided to spend their next four years at SCSU.

The latest round of verbal commitments includes the quartet of high school seniors who competed in the Class A state championships held last November at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium:

-- DT Charles Jones (6-3, 290 lbs.) of Lake View: An anchor upfront for the Class A Division II champion Wild Gators, the Shrine Bowl selection tallied 61 tackles and eight sacks in helping his team hold opponents to an average of eight points per game.

Ranked as a two-star prospect by SCRivals.com, he’s had a bench press max of 320 pounds, a squat max of 520 lbs. and received interest from Clemson University and Hines Community College

-- ATH Devonne Quattlebaum (6-0, 175) of Ridge Spring-Monetta: Originally slated to sign with the University of Colorado, the Region 4-A Player of the Year helped the Trojans reach their first-ever Class A Division II championship.

This past season, he threw for 875 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 18 touchdowns.

-- All-Purpose Donovan Richard (6-0, 180) of Carver’s Bay: A North-South All-Star, the senior Bear had more than 1,000 yards of offense and four interceptions from the defensive back position.

His recruiting stock rose up following his heroics in the Class A Division I championship game. In helping the Bears earn a 22-21 victory over Chesterfield, he made two successful fourth-down conversions off faked punts and blocked a PAT.

-- DE Stephen Moore (6-4, 260 oi) of Carver’s Bay: The senior defensive end had 104 tackles and seven sacks for the 12-2 Bears.

The Bulldogs also received verbal commitments from another Shrine Bowler and three out-of-state prospects:

-- Wide receiver Thomas “Tray” Williams (5-11, 180) of Riverside High School: In one season, the senior Shrine Bowl wideout tripled his receptions output with 48 catches for 784 yards and 11 TDs in helping the Warriors reach the third round of the Class 3-A Upper State playoffs.

-- LB Sanquan Davis (6-2, 220) of Victory Christian High School in Charlotte, N.C.: The MVP of the second-annual Oasis All-Star Shrine Classic where he rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns. East Carolina and North Carolina A&T were also interested in his services.

-- DE Ahkeem McKinney (6-5, 255) of Griffin High School in Griffin, Ga.: A three-year letterman and All-State honorable mention, who also received an offer from Arkansas, he tallied 77 total tackles, 17 assists, 10 tackles for loss, three assisted sacks, one caused fumble, one fumble recovery and an INT returned for a touchdown. His team finished 11-1 and was ranked seventh in the state.

-- OL Shenaniah Thompson (6-5, 270) of Victory Christian High School in Charlotte, N.C.

The future Bulldogs join tight end wide receiver Brandon Bostick (West Florence), right guard Juavahr Nathan (Stratford), linebacker/running back Patrick Washington (Baptist Hill) and strong safety Marquais Hamlin (Lamar).

Meanwhile, highly sought quarterback Malcolm Long of Gaffney has yet to disclose his choice between SCSU and Winston-Salem State, which he visited this past weekend.

Quarterback Dewain Clark (6-3, 215) of West Iredell High school in Statesville, N.C., who visited SCSU this past weekend, is also scheduled to shortly make his final decision.

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